Kyle Harrison's move to the Milwaukee Brewers and ensuing dominance is a familiar story to Boston Red Sox fans — Quinn Priester did it the season before. He won't have a chance to replicate his success this year.
Priester hasn't pitched an inning for the Brewers so far this season due to thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) symptoms. As the halfway point of the season approaches, he and the Brewers have decided it's time for Priester to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery to fix the issue, the righty said in a video from Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The procedure will be done on June 22.
Priester referred to TOS as a "diagnosis of exclusion," which explains why it took so long for he and Milwaukee to decide on the surgery. The Brewers had to rule out all other conditions before sending him for the procedure (subscription required).
Priester's recovery is expected to take eight-to-10 months. He expects to play light catch after three months, then build up from there before his return in 2027 (if all goes well enough with the upcoming CBA negotiations to have a season next year).
Brewers starter Quinn Priester will have thoracic outlet decompression surgery on Monday and will miss the entirety of this season. Here’s a detailed explanation for why he has no regrets about waiting this long to get to this point. pic.twitter.com/QEyuwToxyW
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) June 18, 2026
The Red Sox sorely missed Priester after trading him in April of last season. Tanner Houck struggled and missed the entire second half after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Lucas Giolito and Dustin May fell injured during Boston's playoff push. Priester's 3.32 ERA over 157.1 innings with the Brewers would've served Boston well, especially in the back half of the season.
Priester's injury changes the outlook of the trade it seemed the Red Sox were destined to lose. The 25-year-old will lose this entire season and some of next year to his recovery while the prospects the Sox got for him are playing well down on the farm.
Former Red Sox pitcher Quinn Priester to miss 2026 season for Brewers to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery
Outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez is slashing .247/.314/.473 over 50 games with High-A Greenville. He's already knocked a career-high 10 home runs. The most he'd hit before is seven during the 2024 campaign with Milwaukee's Single-A affiliate.
John Holobetz was the Player To Be Named Later in the trade and he's now the No. 12 prospect in the Sox organization. The 23-year-old righty pitcher has a 4.70 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 19 walks over 51.2 innings for Double-A Portland this year. He's been streaky with a few five-plus run outings, but his latest appearance was for six, scoreless, three-hit innings.
Boston also got a Competitive Balance round draft pick from the trade which turned into Marcus Phillips, the No. 8 prospect in the organization. Phillips' professional career began this season in High-A and he's posted a 6.89 ERA over 31.1 frames. He's struggled with command so far, to the tune of a 1.82 WHIP and 29 walks compared to 37 strikeouts, but he's still young at just 21 years old.
It didn't take long for the Priester trade to look bad for Boston — it could've used the pitching depth he would've provided last season. But the players the Sox got in return have showed promise and Priester's lost season has helped balance the scales.
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